Happy to see our recent paper featured on the March cover! Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Summary: www.nature.com/articles/s41... @cfi-umn.bsky.social @cfi-umn.bsky.social @niaidnews.bsky.social @nidcr.bsky.social 🧪

Distinct spatial organization governs oral mucosal immunity - Nature Immunology

We generated a comprehensive multi-omic atlas of the human gingiva, showing that the tooth-associated epithelium maintains a unique, pre-inflammatory state even in health. Signals from the epithelium ...

nature.com

natimmunol.nature.com@natimmunol.nature.com · 5mo ago

Our March issue is now live. www.nature.com/ni/volumes/2... www.nature.com/ni/

New publication from the Freedman Lab: "Basal phosphorylation of SHIP1 by Lyn suppresses proinflammatory signaling in the absence of a phagocytic synapse," led by PhD-student Erandika Senevirathne, is out now in JI. academic.oup.com/jimmunol/art... @cfi-umn.bsky.social 🧪

Schmiechen et al. recently unraveled a complex web of escape mechanisms and immune interactions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. acir.org/weekly-dige...  @cfi-umn.bsky.social

Tregs versus Tconv: a battle over metastasis in PDA

Schmiechen et al. found that variants of PDA that escaped following PD-L1 blockade showed epigenetic silencing of Tap1 expression, which induced loss of IFNγ-inducible MHC-I and reduced tumor cell killing mediated by CD8+ T cell. Escape variants also had an increased capacity for metastasis, which was promoted by Tregs and their suppressive effect on conventional CD4+ T cells. Combination strategies involving restoring IFNγ-inducible MHC-I, targeting Tregs, and enhancing Tconv enabled more effective cancer immunotherapy, suggesting potentially targetable mechanisms to enhance immunotherapy in PDA.

acir.org

Exciting new work from the Jameson and Hamilton Hart labs! Published in Nature Immunology, this study shows IL-4–STAT6 delays CD8+ T cell bystander activation by modulating IL-18 sensing, a key insight into memory T cell responses. Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

IL-4–STAT6 signaling delays protective CD8+ T cell bystander activation by antagonizing IL-18 sensing - Nature Immunology

Maurice et al. examine how cytokines regulate antigen-independent activation of memory CD8+ T cells. They show that IL-4 signaling changes the quality of the bystander T cell response by antagonizing ...

nature.com

🎉Congratulations to Dr. Courtney Matson, Masopust Lab, on being named a finalist for the 2026 NPA Postdoc of the Year! Her science and her leadership for UMN postdocs make this recognition so well‑deserved.👏👏

We kicked off 2026 with our first #CeMMinar featuring David Masopust (UMN Medical School), who shared insights on CD8 #TCells surveillance, migration & memory. Thanks to David & our hosts CeMM PI Clarissa Campbell & Adjunct PI @andreasbergthaler.bsky.social! 👏 #Immunology

Congratulations to Sean Tracy for being selected by @ASH_hematology to receive the ASH Scholar Award! www.hematology.org/newsroom/pre... #ASHAwards #Fight4Hematology

Congratulations Dr. Erandika Senevirathne on your successful thesis defense!! 🎉🎓

the word congratulations is surrounded by purple confetti

ALT: the word congratulations is surrounded by purple confetti

media.tenor.com

Join us Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, for Erandika Senevirathne's Final Ph.D. Defense: "Steady-state phosphorylation of SHIP1 by Lyn restricts macrophage activation in the absence of a phagocytic synapse." Advisor: Tanya Freedman(@tfreedmanlab.bsky.social), 9:00 am, 1-125 CCRB

Save the Date! Join us for the 63rd Annual Blumenthal Lecture on February 27th, featuring Dr. E. John Wherry as our invited speaker. 🔗 Details: z.umn.edu/Blumenthal 🗓️Add to calendar: z.umn.edu/Blumenthal2026

#ICYMI: From Dr. Kristin Hogquist at the Center for Immunology-UMN focuses on interferon (IFN) production within the thymus and its effects on thymic APCs and developing thymocyte while also examining the importance of T-cell tolerance to IFN. The Journal of Immunology: https://ow.ly/UEMw50VEIEx

Warmest wishes for a holiday season full of joy and cherished moments from our Center for Immunology community. We are grateful for the dedication and collaboration of our faculty, trainees, staff, and partners, and we look forward to continued discovery and shared progress in the year ahead.

Congratulations to CFI Associate Director Dr. David Masopust, recipient of the 2026 @aai.org Meritorious Career Award! This award recognizes his exceptional achievements and enduring impact in the field of immunology research.

One message from our #WorldScienceDay Q&A continues to resonate. “#Immunology intersects with many, many disciplines.” — IUIS Vice President Carla Rothlin Revisit the full conversation on #Immunohub: https://loom.ly/UaZHw7g #ImmunologyWithoutBorders

Congratulations to our Director, Dr. Carla Rothlin, on being selected as the 2026 recipient of the @aai.org Lancefield Mid-Career Achievement Award. This well-deserved honor recognizes her outstanding contributions to immunology and leadership in the field.

New from CFI’s Stromnes, Tsai, Moriarity and colleagues: a great overview of how forward genetic screens, including CRISPR & Sleeping Beauty, can uncover new engineering strategies to strengthen adoptive T-cell therapy for solid tumors. jitc.bmj.com/content/13/1...

Functional genomics for improving adoptive T-cell transfer therapies

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has shown remarkable success in the treatment of some malignancies, particularly leukemia. However, there are multiple factors that limit the durability of ACT in solid tum...

jitc.bmj.com

Congratulations to Bryce Binstadt, MD, PhD, who began his two-year term as President of the Rheumatology Research Foundation in October 2025. The Foundation supports research and training to improve the health of patients with rheumatic diseases. Learn more: www.rheumresearch.org/leadership

Congratulations to the Geoff Hart Lab, including @Jenna_K_Dick, A. Sangala, and collaborators! Their MIS C NK cell and monocyte dysfunction paper was named a top article in pediatric asthma, allergy, and immunology by the AAP. Read more: publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...

Don't miss CFI’s David Masopust, Carmen Gerlach, and Ravi Ahmed for a special webinar hosted by Nature Reviews Immunology, with support from Stemcell Technologies on the new "T cell nomenclature guidelines"! Happening Dec 8 at 11 am CT. Register here: z.umn.edu/Tcellnomencl...

Our 2025 CFI Newsletter is now live on our website, z.umn.edu/CFINewsletter! Catch up on this year’s research highlights, awards, trainee achievements, and more. Want to join our email list? Send a request to cfi@umn.edu.

Proud of UMN/CFI faculty David Masopust, Dan Knights, and Bruce Blazar, named to the 2025 Highly Cited Researchers list! Their groundbreaking work in T cell biology, microbiome research, and immunotherapy drives global advances in immunology. z.umn.edu/CFIhighlycited

Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2025

The Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list identifies and celebrates individuals who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields of research. Through rigorous selection criteria and ...

z.umn.edu

This Thanksgiving, the CFI community extends our heartfelt gratitude to our trainees, faculty, staff, collaborators, and alumni. Your dedication drives discovery, strengthens our mission, and advances the future of immunology. We are thankful for all you do. Wishing you a restful and joyful holiday.

a greeting card that says happy thanksgiving

ALT: a greeting card that says happy thanksgiving

media.tenor.com

In their new editorial, Carla Rothlin and J. S. Gutkind present a Special Collection on Targeting the Immune System, covering advances in cancer immunology, chronic inflammation, neuroimmune biology, addiction immunotherapy, and regenerative immunity. jpet.aspetjournals.org/article/S002...

New from Masopust, Ahmed, and colleagues! A major multi-lab Consensus Statement offering updated, field-wide guidelines for defining and reporting T cell populations, bringing clarity, consistency, and transparency to T cell research. nature.com/articles/s41...

Guidelines for T cell nomenclature - Nature Reviews Immunology

This Consensus Statement clarifies the existing subset-based nomenclature for T cells. Furthermore, it proposes an alternative modular nomenclature that is designed to be brief and flexible and to avo...

nature.com

Congrats to the Stromnes Lab: Adam Burrack, Alex Tsai, Madeline Ellefson, Zoe Schmiechen, Brandon Larsen, Kristina Burrack, and Ingunn Stromnes on their new paper showing IL15 complex enhances anti–PDL1 therapy in PDA via sustained T cell function. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41254224/

IL-15 complex enhances therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-L1 in a T cell–dependent and NK cell–independent manner in a murine model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal malignancy resistant to therapy including immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). We previously show

academic.oup.com

Congratulations to the Freedman Lab and MD/PhD student Anders Lindstedt on this exciting new JLB paper! A fantastic team effort with the Williams Lab-well done! 👏🧪

Tanya Freedman@tfreedmanlab.bsky.social · 9mo ago

New publication: "Lyn expression in macrophages promotes TLR activation and restricts proliferation in an isoform-independent manner" is out now in JLB. MD/PhD student Anders Lindstedt led with an assist from @lab-williams.bsky.social. academic.oup.com/jleukbio/art... @cfi-umn.bsky.social 🧪

Congratulations to T. Dileepan on the publication of his collaborative work with Jennifer Gommerman’s group in Cell, uncovering how TFH1 cells and B-cell MHC class II signaling drive protective IgA responses during mucosal viral infection: www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Yesterday was #WorldScienceDay — but honestly, every day is science day here at CFI. 🧬💙 We’re proud to be part of a global community that builds trust, shares knowledge, and pushes discovery forward.

Vobořil, Hogquist @cfi-umn.bsky.social and colleagues reveal the #thymus as a niche for diverse, developmentally distinct #myeloid cells and elucidate their specific requirements for development and maturation. rupress.org/jem/article/... #Hematopoiesis #Tolerance #LymphocyteBiology

Science builds trust and shapes tomorrow. On #WorldScienceDay, Dr. Carla Rothlin, IUIS Vice-President and CFI Director, joins global voices for the IUIS Roundtable — “Trust, Transformation, and Tomorrow.” 🌍 Nov 10 | 9:00 am (CST) Register here: immunohub.iuis.org/b2726748afc1...

International Union of Immunological Societies@iuis-online.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This #WorldScienceDay, IUIS joins the @sciencecouncil.bsky.social & the global scientific community in celebrating science as a force for trust, collaboration & progress. Nov 10 | 16:00 CET 🎥 Live on #ImmunoHub https://loom.ly/2PZA5YI